Martin Freeman has revealed he thinks his 'Sherlock' character Dr. Watson is simply good friends with Sherlock Holmes and nothing more

The 44-year-old actor - who stars as Dr. John Watson in the crime drama 'Sherlock' - has dismissed the notion of a mutual attraction between the iconic literary figures, insisting it is just a "deep friendship".

Martin - who appears opposite Benedict Cumberbatch on the popular show - told BANG Showbiz: "It's a friendship. Obviously way more has been made in the ether of that relationship than has ever been put in the show.

"The trouble is, as soon as you get into a dialogue about that it sounds like you're kind of denying things or something, being homophobic to say, 'They're not actually f**king!' And it is possible, I think, for people of the same sex to have a deep friendship without actually being attracted to each other."

The 'Hobbit' actor added that although the characters love each other, there is nothing sexual about their dynamic.

He reflected: "The thing is people are attracted to each other in all sorts of ways. You don't necessarily want to have sex with someone just because you love them, do you know what I mean? They respect each other, they bring different things to their friendship."